John’s Grocery - The Blog

Another Iowa City Brewfest has come and gone. Yesterday, September 22, marked the 12th Annual Iowa City Brewfest and it was the largest event ever. Everyone at John’s, Old Chicago, and the American Heart Association were thrilled with the turnout. The two factors leading to the great attendance were the perfect weather (mid to high seventies) and the late start of the Iowa Hawkeye football game (7 P.M.). The final numbers aren’t available yet, but only a couple of hours into the event the big tent was packed. I’m was told we did have to send a volunteer to purchase additional spools of tickets twice so patrons were purchasing plenty of drink tickets. We really didn’t try to do anything new this year and it is very pleasing to see that our tried and true formula works.

Check out photos from the event.

If you missed out on the Iowa City Brewfest, there is still time to get tickets for the annual Brewnost at the National Czech and Slovak Museum in Cedar Rapids. See the details here.

We’ve hashed it out some of the details with the staff from the National Czech and Slovak Museum and we’ve put together a tentative intinerary for the May 2008 group trip to the Czech Republic. The dates may change a little bit and we don’t know about pricing yet. If you are interested the dates below would be good to reserve on your calendar. We’re in the process of trying to arrange ground transportation in the Czech Republic so if you are really interested, then drop us a line at “beerroom@johngrocery.com” so we can better judge interest.

• Wednesday, May 21 Depart for Prague.
• Thursday, May 22 Arrive in Prague – Go to Plzeň, the Capital City of Beer, for a welcome dinner – overnight in Plzeň.
• Friday, May 23 Tour Pilsner Urquell Brewery & Museum. Time on your own to visit the historic sites of Plzeň. Dinner and overnight in Plzeň
• Saturday, May 24 Travel to The Chodovar Family Brewery in Chudová Planá, the oldest brewery in Western Bohemia. Try the optional spa treatments including soaking in a beer bath. Dinner and return to Plzeň for overnight.
• Sunday, May 25 Travel to Březnice to tour the Herold Březnice Castle Brewery and the Březnice Castle. Dinner. Overnight in Březnice.
• Monday, May 26 Travel to České Budĕjovice to tour the Samson Brewery and the world-famous Budvar Brewery. Dinner. Overnight in Český Krumlov.
• Tuesday, May 27 Free day to enjoy the sights and tour the castle of Český Krumlov. Optional visit to nearby Hluboka Castle. Overnight in Český Krumlov.
• Wednesday, May 28 Travel to Jaroslav Svoboda’s glass studio in the village of Karlov outside of ŽĎĂR nad Sázavou. Then on to visit the Želiv Monastery Brewery in Humpolec Želiv.
• Thursday, May 29 Travel to Prague. Optional city tour. On your own for sightseeing and shopping.
• Friday, May 30 Optional guided tour of The Musaion, folk museum. Farewell dinner.
• Saturday, May 31 Depart.